Tokyo sucks

If not for the fact that the Grand Sumo tournament was being held in Tokyo while we were in Japan, we probably would have skipped the city entirely. And that would have been fine.

All of the culture, all of the history, all of the unique identity that has made Japan such a great place to explore and visit is absent from the city. It is row upon row of skyscrapers, and streets filled with young hipsters. It is, in point of fact, just like Vancouver but with taller buildings. I suspect more English is spoken here.

The Grand Sumo tournament, though...that made visiting Tokyo worthwhile.

It was, in a word, awesome. In more words, it was like taking awesome, wrapping it in awesome, and serving it with a side of awesome for garnish.

We arrived at the tournament about 8:30 am and bought our general admission tickets. Since everyone was working on a Monday, we did not sit in our own seats. Instead, we picked the best, inconspicuous seats available overhanging the balcony and trusted in the Japanese preference to avoid confrontations.

The tournament lasts two weeks. There are two teams, basically. Nishi - the west, and Higashi - the east. We decided to cheer for Nishi for several reasons. First and foremost, Tokyo really sucks. Second, we would be cheering for the visiting team in the home team building. Third, cheering for the east of Japan would be like cheering for the east of Canada. Which is like cheering for Toronto. We would never cheer for Toronto. And finally, we were not sitting in our own seats and we wanted to be inconspicuous.

The early morning was for the aspiring sumo wrestlers. It was a continuous series of bouts that lasted until about 3:00 pm. At the end of the two weeks, the wrestler with the best record earns the priveledge of competing as a genuine wrestler at the next competition. Competitions are held about every two months, from what I could gather.

I grabbed a few videos of the events that I will be happy to share when we get home. There was an opening-ceremony ceremony, a ceremony before each match, a ceremony before the official bouts, and a closing ceremony. I wish sumo were more accessible from Canada. It was all fantastic, even if slightly incomprehensible.

Afterwards we joined the crowds and headed back to Shinjuku.